Sleeping quilt

ABSTRACT

There is disclosed a thermal insulating material especially suitable for a bed quilt in which there is a filling in the form of a coherent sheet or strip enclosed between two layers of sheet material, lines of stitching are formed between the layers of sheet material and pass through the filling, the stiches being such that whilst it prevents any substantial movement of the filling relative to the material in use, the layers of material along the lines of stitching will be held apart by the pressure of the filling. The layers of sheet material may be spaced strips of material extending along each side of the filling, the stitching passing through the strips, an outer cover which may be secured to the strips may be provided.

United States Patent [191 Sellers et al.

[451 Sept. 24, 1974 1 1 SLEEPING QUILT [75] Inventors: Brian Sellers, West Lothian; Harry Graham Usher, Edinburgh; Thomas William Lawrie Kay, Midlothian, all of Scotland [73] Assignee: R. Mackness & Company Limited,

Edinburgh, Scotland 22 Filed: May 23,1972

21 Appl. No.2 255,971

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data June 3, 1971 Great Britain 18833/71 [52] U.S. Cl 5/334 R, 5/350, 112/420, 156/93, 161/50 [51] Int. Cl A47c 23/00, A47c 27/18 [58] Field of Search 112/417, 420, 429, 434,

2,458,588 l/1949 Gordon ct a1 161/50 2,520,914 9/1950 Crawford 112/420 X 2,544,797 3/1951 Lippmann 5/334 2,640,004 5/1953 Van Saun 156/93 X 2,960,702 ll/l960 Linke et al i 5/334 3,183,868 5/1965 Shotsky 112/420 X 3,199,481 8/1965 Handwerker.. 112/420 3,488,684 l/l970 Wrightson 1 112/420 3,649,428 3/1972 Hughes 112/420 X Primary Examiner-William A. Powell Assistant ExaminerBrian J. Leitten Attorney, Agent, or FirmBacon & Thomas [57] ABSTRACT There is disclosed a thermal insulating material espe- I cially suitable for a bed quilt in which there is a filling in the form of a coherent sheet or strip enclosed between two layers of sheet material, lines of stitching are formed between the layers of sheet material and pass through the filling, the stiches being such that whilst it prevents any substantial movement of the filling relative to the material in use, the layers of material along the lines of stitching will be held apart by the pressure of the filling. The layers of sheet material may be spaced strips of material extending along each side of the filling, the stitching passing through the strips, an outer cover which may be secured to the strips may be provided.

1 Claim, 5 Drawing Figures 1 SLEEPING QUILT This invention relatesto a thermalinsulating material of the type having a filling enclosed between two layers of sheet material which finds particular, though not exclusive, usein the manufacture of quilts for bed coverings. Other uses for such a materialinclude sleeping bags and certain items of clothing, forexample wind proof garments or dressing gowns.

All of the above items require a thermal insulating material which complies with the conflicting requirements of uniform heat insulation over the whole surface of the material (i.e., no ,cold spots) and the ability to retain its filling uniformly distributed over the whole area of the material.

The latter of these requirements has sometimes been met by stitching the two layers of material tightly together after introduction of the filler,,the lines of the stitching being arranged to form squares or other patterns in the material. ln the case of quiltsthese stitches are normally run in straight lines, running longitudinally from top tobottom of the bed,thus forming longitudinal channels of lens-shaped cross section containing theinsulating filler. This method of construction suffers from the disadvantage that the lines of stitching form cold strips in the material. Thisis due to the fact that the thickness of the insulation along the lines of stitching is reduced merely to that of the two sheets of material. This method of construction also means that substantially all the filler is in a state of compression and the insulation of the covering is therefore poor.

In the case of quilts, where the occupant of the bed is relying solely on the quilt for warmth the presence of cold spots is a serious disadvantage. One construction of quilt which avoids this problem is a quilt filled with natural down and having tape, typically of 1 inch width forming longitudinal channels between the sheets of material. The tapes are sewn between the two layers of material to form a wall between adjacent channels. Each channel so formed then has equal weights of filler, e.g., down introduced, for example by blowing. This method of construction substantially eliminates cold spots since the minimum thickness of the material is equal to the width of the tape, which can be adjusted according to requirements. Thus, the loft, i.e., the overall thickness of the material can bekept substantially constant over the whole width of the material.

However, the use of tapes to divide the channelshas the disadvantage that it is only suitablefor fillings of a particular nature, for example down, which can be introduced into the relatively narrow openings presented by the channels. This precludes the use of many types of filler material, particularly certainsynthetic fibres, which would otherwise be suitable forthese materials.

It is possible to have a synthetic filling whichhasthe same insulation properties weight for weight as the more traditional down filling. However, in order to anchor the filling the quilt has to be sewn through as aforesaid, so producing cold spots. Hence it is an object of the present invention to provide a quilt which can utilise the type of filling which is supplied as a coherent whole in the form of sheets or strips and yet still comply with the requirements of providing good insulation over the whole width of the material and hence no cold spots, and good anchorageof the material to prevent movement and consequent bunching during use.

Thus in accordance with one aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of manufacturing a thermal insulating material of the type having a filling in the form of a coherent sheet or strip enclosed between two layers of sheet material, said method includ ing the step of forming lines of stitching between said layers of sheet material and through said filling, the stitching being such that whilst said filling is restrained against any substantial movement in use, the layers of material, along the lines of stiching, are held apart by the pressure of the filling whereby to provide substantially uniform insulation over the width of the material.

According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided a thermal insulating material of the type having a filling in the form of a coherent sheet or strip enclosed by two layers of sheet material wherein said filling is held in position betweensaid layers by means of lines of stitches passing through the filling so as to restrain the filling against substantial movement in use and to provide substantially uniform insulation over the whole width of the material.

The said layers of sheet material may be in the form of spaced strips of material extending along the length of both sides of the filling and serving to receive the said stitching and in such event thermal insulating material according to the invention will normally be enclosed in a cover either permanently or detachably, which cover can if desired also be stitched through the filling or to the strips. However the said layers of material can also constitute the cover in which case the said strips of material can be omitted.

Preferably the stitches are loose enough to permit the two layers of material to be held apart by the pressure of the filling between them and the words loose stitching or loose stitches" are intended to mean stitches made between said layers to leave a gap betweenthem. The stitches pass through the filling but are not pulled tight in the normal manner.

In order to take full advantage of the novel features of this invention the filling used will be coherent enough to be restrained by the passage of thread therethrough. The use of feathers, for example, with this type of construction would accrue little extra advantage over the type of quilt which comprises merely a large bag of feathers. In such case, therefore, the known type of construction employing tape to divide the channels is the most satisfactory.

The loose stitches are preferably provided with some locking means to prevent the stitches pulling through to give tight stitches in some parts and very .loose stitches in others. This may be achieved by the use of a double thread chain stitch or by the use of individual locking stitches.

The lines of loose stitching may be arranged in any desired manner suitable to the nature of the material. In the case of quilts the stitching is preferably formed as a number of straight lines running parallel to one another along the length of the material. This causes the finished quilt to have a similar cross-sectional shape to that of the quilt employing tape to divide the longitudinal channels. Thus a substantially uniform loft is maintained with no cold spots.

It will be appreciated that this methodof construction thus enables a number of materials to be employed as fillings in the manufacture of quilts which materials would otherwise be unsuitable. Any type of fibre, natural or synthetic, may be employed although, as mentioned above, the filling should be in the form of a cohesive strip. sheet or mat.

The pressure of the filling holds the two layers of covering material apart thereby ensuring that no cold spots are produced and the stitching holds the filling in position to prevent movement and bunching.

The depth of the stitches (i.e. the distance between the two layers of covering material) is governed by the intended use of the material and the type of filler being employed and may vary between /2 and 3 inches, but is preferably 1 /2 inches for bed quilts. Individual stitches in a line are placed between 2 /2 mm and 10 mm apart, the distance again depending upon the nature of the filling. The space between lines of stitching will vary between 4 and 9 inches and the maximum loft (i.e., the thickness of the material at a point midway between the longitudinal rows of stitching) will be typically about 6 inches unrestrained. This latter distance will, of course, be reduced when the stitches are inserted.

The use of loose, as opposed to tight, stitches to form the longitudinal channels also has the advantage that the filler as a whole is less compressed for the same amount of filler, and therefore gives better thermal properties due to the increased volume of air trapped by the material. This feature also means that the material as a whole possesses greater flexibility and is hence better able to adapt to the shape of the object around which it is placed.

In order that the invention may be better understood two embodiments thereof will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional side view of part of a known quilt of the type having tape to divide adjacent channels,

FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional side view of part of a quilt manufactured from a thermal insulating material according to the invention,

FIG. 3 shows a further embodiment of a thermal insulating material according to the invention employed in the manufacture of quilts,

FIG. 4 shows diagrammatically a further step in the production of the material shown in FIG. 3, and

FIG. 5 shows diagrammatically a section through part of a quilt formed from such material.

As shown in FIG. 1 the known quilt comprises two layers 1 and 2 of sheet material between which a filling 3, for example of down, is contained. In order to reduce the movement of the filling within layers 1 and 2 during use a number of channels 4 are formed running longitudinally of the bed (not shown). In the case of the known quilts these channels are divided up by means of discrete strips 5 of material which are attached to layers 1 and 2. Thus, when the quilt is filled the pressure of filling 3 causes the minimum loft of the quilt to be equal to the width of the strips 5, i.e., the distance A in FIG. 1.

In FIG. 2 is shown a quilt made from the thermal insulating material of this invention. As before, the filling 3 is contained between layers 1 and 2 of sheet material and is divided into channels 4. However, in this case, the channels 4 are not distinct pockets, but are only separated by lines of long stitches. The long part of one stitch is shown at 6 in FIG. 2. In order to prevent pulling of the stitching the stitches are locked at points 7 and 8 where they pass through the layers 1 and 2.

Thus the minimum loft of the quilt is governed by the 5 length of the long part 6 of each stitch, the pressure of filling 3 between layers 1 and 2 keeping the stitches taut, thus providing substantially uniform insulation over the whole width of the material.

FIG. 3 shows an arrangement similar to that of FIG. 2 except that the stitches are locked into a number of elongate strips 9 of material at points 10 and 11. The strips 9 extend along the lines of stitching and only enclose the material for a short length on either side of the lines. Thus with this form of construction the layers 1 and 2 are not actually attached to the filling 3. This has the advantage that no part of the stitching appears on the outside of layers 1 and 2 so eliminating the possibility of the stitches being accidentally pulled during use.

Since however there is sometimes a tendency for the filling, during use of or when washing the quilt, to fold upon itself inside the casing formed by layers 1 and 2 it is preferred to stitch each of the tapes to the layers 1 or 2 respectively.

This can readily be achieved in the following manner. After the stitches 6 have been locked into strips 9, the filling 3 is folded upon itself as shown in FIG. 4 to present an edge 9a of a tape 9. A layer of material 1 or 2 having preformed lines to indicate where the layer and tape 9 are to be stitched together is then machine-sewn to the tape edge 9a. This procedure is repeated for each tape 9 or for a selected number of tapes 9 across the quilt. FIG. 5 shows diagramatically part of a crosssection through a finished quilt.

It will be seen that a thermally insulated material has been provided which using a filling in the form of a coherent sheet or strip will provide a good insulation over its whole width and will avoid any substantial movement or bunching of the material during use.

It will be understood that the layers 1 and 2 will not in practice normally form the outer layer of the quilt, this being provided for by a decorative covering. This covering may be periodically removed for cleaning purposes.

What we claim is:

l. A flexible quilt for sleeping having a cover, a filling and means preventing movement of the filling relative to the cover; wherein the cover is a sheet of material, the filling is thermally insulative and comprises a mat of cohesive fibrous material; and wherein the movement preventing means comprises a plurality of pairs of parallel strips extending across the filling between the filling and the cover, the strips of each pair being disposed on opposite sides of the filling; the strips each being secured along one longitudinal edge to the cover and the strips being interconnected along their other longitudinal edge by loose stitching extending through the edges of the strips and through the filling; the stitches being of a length which enables the strips of each pair of strips to be held apart by the pressure of the filling so as to provide a substantially uniform thickness of insulation over the width of the quilt and whereby said loose stitching is not exposed to the exterior of said quilt. 65 =l= 

1. A flexible quilt for sleeping having a cover, a filling and means preventing movement of the filling relative to the cover; wherein the cover is a sheet of material, the filling is thermally insulative and comprises a mat of cohesive fibrous material; and wherein the movement preventing means comprises a plurality of pairs of parallel strips extending across the filling between the filling and the cover, the strips of each pair being disposed on opposite sides of the filling; the strips each being secured along one longitudinal edge to the cover and the strips being interconnected along their other longitudinal edge by loose stitching extending through the edges of the strips and through the filling; the stitches being of a length which enables the strips of each pair of strips to be held apart by the pressure of the filling so as to provide a substantially uniform thickness of insulation over the width of the quilt and whereby said loose stitching is not exposed to the exterior of said quilt. 